Chess Video Lessons

What’s one way to make (or break) a blockade?
Sacrificing your queen, of course.
FM Mike Klein returns with his critically acclaimed queen sac series to show you how jettisoning the lady can help you create or burst through a crucial blockade.
You don’t have to be in Latvia to appreciate these beautiful queen sacs, but it helps! | Watch video

GM Finegold is back with his usual mix of humor and insight. He even makes seemingly lifeless endgames fun to watch! Today he will make so many king moves "you'll get dizzy." The grandmaster beats a world youth champion despite the position looking defensible. You'll also hear what his advice is when playing against young stars. But the big question is, what obscure 1980s movie reference will he slip into his commentary? | Watch video

IM Keaton Kiewra draws several parallels between the fourth Carlsen-Anand game and other world championship matches. What similarities did he see? This game saw more fight from both players. You'll see the action ramp up, and you'll learn a ton about the Berlin Defense and even a smidge about defending rook and pawn endgames. History lessons, opening lessons, endgame lessons, all in one! | Watch video

How could a game that features very few tactics win Game of the Week? Two reasons: First, it was the final game of the match, and GM Julio Becerra needed to win to send his Sharks through. Second, the complicated bishop ending was probably the most instructive played this season in the USCL. Full of rich breakthrough ideas, GM Yermolinsky has to go into overtime to explain everything, and even then you'll have to consult the PGN for his full analysis! | Watch video

In Part 6, FM Mike Klein was ahead a pawn and broke through on the opposite flank to create his second weakness. Today, he takes an equal position and attempts to win both sides of the board as well. Don't be afraid to transition into an endgame that you can't possibly lose, even if you're not sure you're winning. It's more technical than tactical, but so is the process of setting your chess clock! | Watch video

Any good boxer will attack the head and the body, and any good chessboxer will make two points of attack in the endgame. Picking up on a series you probably thought was dormant, Chess.com pulls a Mt. St. Helens and rumbles back to life. This is one of the most commonly used ideas to win in the endgame. Use the misdirection, or you'll be going in the wrong direction! | Watch video

More opposite colored bishop endgames are examined, but this time, some surprising sacrifices are needed to get the job done. Expanding on his comprehensive series, GM Bojkov assumes you mastered the basics, and this time challenges you with much more difficult examples. He stresses the quality of the passed pawns, not the quantity. Watch and see what he means! | Watch video

Our Bulgarian grandmaster treats us to even more complicated examples of defending opposite colored bishop endgames. When several passed pawns are breathing down your throat, do you have the knowledge to restrain them and hold the fort? You'll learn the principle of one diagonal, and also the usefulness of certain stalemate traps. Watch closely, there's a quiz position at the end! | Watch video

GM Bojkov ramps up the theory on opposite colored bishop endgames. Having already tackled positions where the pawns are together, here he shows several winning and drawing examples where the two passed pawns are separated. The distance between the passers is the salient ingredient between the half point and the full point. Watch and learn how far apart they have to be to eek out a victory! | Watch video

GM Bojkov begins a series on opposite-colored bishop endings, showing two examples where titled players misplayed the defensive method. The drawing technique is shown, but Bojkov also shows how to play for a win once your pawns get far enough advanced. Don't throw away a half point like these masters did - knowing the proper setup is simple and will save you! | Watch video

Help us finish translating:

We are working hard to make Chess.com available in over 70 languages. Check back over the year as we develop the technology to add more, and we will try our best to notify you when your language is ready for translating!